Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Art - Essay Example He was also heavily influenced by the Post-Impressionists Gauguin and Van Gogh. Picasso was a Spanish artist known as the founder of Cubism. Unlike Matisse, Picasso’s paintings of women are grotesquely distorted. He portrays the woman with darkness and vulgarity. In the early years of the twentieth century, Picasso embarked on a series of paintings using blue palette and melancholy themes. After his Blue Period, came his Rose Period which emphasized a warmer palette and more cheerful themes. Picasso’s works were influenced by Matisse’s works especially with his still life paintings. However, Picasso focused more on form and innovation while Matisse focused more on color and was less abstract. Picasso uses form with symmetry at different angels, geometrics and inspiration from household tools. On the other hand, Matisse always preferred bright colors even in his landscapes. His colors changes from light to dark but its mixtures make it even more creative. Matisse does not have much attention to detail but he adheres to reality unlike Picasso who would usually distort the images of his subjects. The art works of both artists were influenced by each other, more so when they developed a friendly rivalry. One of the more famous works of Picasso is the â€Å"Les Demoiselles d’Avignon† which is an example of his neo-cubism, modernism, and impressionism. This painting shows women who are immensely distorted. Geometric shapes are used instead of curves to portray the bodies of the women. The painting uses dark colors such as brown, black and blue which makes the theme gloomy. Matisse’s â€Å"Joy of Life† on the other hand depicts women more naturally by showing the right curves and proportions. The mood of Matisse’s painting is livelier because of the colors that he used specifically, red, green and yellow. Although both paintings show a group of women, one can clearly see the difference in how they are portrayed b y both artists. Matisse’s â€Å"Joy of Life†, 1905-1906 vs. Picasso’s â€Å"Les Demoiselles d’Avignon†, 1907 Picasso’s â€Å"Vase, bowl & lemon†, 1907 vs. Matisse’s â€Å"Blue Pot and Lemon† , 1897 The paintings above are examples of still life paintings of Picasso and Matisse. Unlike other Matisse’s paintings, the colors are quite dull. In contrast, Picasso’s emphasizes the shapes of the objects by using black outlines on the figures. His colors are darker as compared to those of Matisse’s. In Matisse’s painting, the objects seem to blend with its background because of its complimentary colors while in Picasso’s painting, the dark blue and gray background shows a sharp contrast between the colors of the lemon and the vase. Picasso’s â€Å"Acrobat† 1930 vs. Matisse’s â€Å"Acrobats† 1952 The above paintings of both Picasso and Matisse show clearly how they in fluenced each other. The paintings show the different interpretations of the two artists on one subject. Again, we can see Matisse’s love for colors by painting the human body blue in a beige background. On the other hand, Picasso simply used black and white. The two paintings though, both show a distortion of the human body. Works Cited Carver, Reg. Matisse or Picasso. 11 February 2011. Web. 3 May 2011. http://www.findmyowncurrent.com/2011/02/11/matisse-or-picasso/ Edward and Betty Marcus Foundation. Matisse & Picasso. 2001. Web. 3 May 2011